Subjective well-being and internet overuse: A meta-analysis of mainland Chinese students

This meta-analysis tested whether (a) internet overuse was linked to subjective well-being, life satisfaction, positive emotion, or negative emotion and (b) whether participants’ geographical region, age, or gender moderated these links. Meta-analysis of 70 primary studies with 68,964 participants showed that students with internet overuse had more negative emotions, less subjective well-being, less life satisfaction, and less positive emotions. Geographic region, age, and gender moderated these links. The link between negative emotions and internet overuse was stronger in studies of participants in Central China and Western China than those of participants in Eastern China. In addition, internet overuse’s links to subjective well-being and positive emotions were stronger in studies of younger students than in studies of university students. Lastly, internet overuse’s negative links with subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and positive emotion were stronger in samples with more females than with more males.